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After months of conducting a nationwide search, the Board of Trustees of Polk State College met on Friday afternoon and selected Dr. Angela Garcia Falconetti as their 5th President. I was able to attend each of the 5 public candidate forums and I have to applaud the search committee, as the candidates selected as finalists were each their own "tour de force" and certainly all have strengths that would have enhanced the accomplishments that Dr. Holden and her team have made over the last 11 years.

My impression of Dr. Falconetti was of a woman who has worked hard her entire life, is warm, personable and genuine, yet very polished and an excellent public speaker. She explained during her opening statement that she was the child of Cuban immigrants and understood the power of a community college education and how the access it provides can transform lives for the better. Her core focus would being in the business of student success and continue Dr. Holden's legacy of focusing and fighting for just that. She was impressed with the amount Polk State College had grown over the last decade (as we all are - "Soar Eagles!").

Dr. Falconetti currently serves as the Vice President of Institutional Advancement of Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, Virginia. She will begin with Polk State in July. Dr. Falconetti has 18 years of experience in higher education at the state and national levels. She has been the Vice President of Institutional Advancement of Virginia Western Community College since 2012. In her current role, Dr. Falconetti is responsible for college strategic planning, legislative advocacy, and resource development. She serves as the acting president in the absence of the president.

​She holds a Master of Education degree and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of North Florida, and a Bachelor in Arts with specializations in Communications and Education Cognate from New York University. Prior to her work with Virginia Western Community College, Dr. Falconetti was the Vice President of Planning, Development, and Institutional Effectiveness for Daytona State College; the Dean of Transitional and Institutional Effectiveness Services for Daytona State; and the Education Program Specialist and Special Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges with the US Department of Education in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education.